We currently provide mental health and wellbeing support in Tyneside, Northumberland, and Teesside. This includes our Together in a Crisis service, which supports people in mental health crisis.
The DBI service will be our first service in Derwentside, where we will be working with Tees, Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust (TEWV) to provide compassionate, community-based mental health support to people who are in distress.
This service will be the first of its kind in England. The DBI service has already been successful in Scotland, where 90% of people referred to the service agreed that DBI has given them the tools and skills to manage their distress.
What is a Distress Brief Intervention service?
The DBI approach has two levels.
Level one involves training for front line staff (NHS 111, A&E, Police, Primary Care, and North East Ambulance Service) to provide a compassionate response to people in distress, identifying those who would benefit from referral to the level two service.
In level two, our specially trained colleagues will contact the person within 24 hours of the referral. We will be providing compassionate, community-based problem-solving support, wellness and distress management planning, supported connections, and signposting for up to 14 days. This will help to reduce the person’s immediate distress and support people to better manage their mental health over time.
Rachel Smith, Consultant Applied Psychologist with Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust said:
“We are thrilled to be working in partnership with Everyturn Mental Health to pilot the first DBI service outside of Scotland. This exciting new development is part of our work to make mental health support available to more people in their communities when they need it. We are confident it will make a real difference to the people of Derwentside.”
Adam Crampsie, our Chief Executive Officer said:
“I am delighted to see the invaluable DBI service being rolled out in England, and I am incredibly proud that Everyturn Mental Health will be advancing its working partnership with TEVW and our NHS and VSCE colleagues on this pilot scheme in Derwentside.
“We’ve seen the impact that the service has had in Scotland in helping people in distress to cope and manage their issues better. We believe that the DBI Service will be as effective in the North East and provide prompt and specialist support for those who need it.”
We’re so proud to be working in partnership with TEWV to make sure no one struggles alone.